Description: Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, an advocate for Indigenous women's rights and director of the First Peoples House of Learning, Trent University, will be our guest speaker. Dr. Lavell-Harvard will speak on Truth and Reconciliation. Dr. Lavell-Harvard, former President of the Native Women's Association of Canada, has a PhD in Education.
Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard gave the 25th Annual Margaret Laurence Lecture at Trent University in 2017. "Large scale and widespread change in society is possible, and sometimes all it takes to make that happen is for one person to stand up against social injustice." Hosted by the Department of Gender & Women's Studies, the annual lecture honours Margaret Laurence, a Canadian literary icon and social justice activist who was Trent Universityâs fourth chancellor. The public lecture series addresses topics that were important to Ms. Laurence, including peace, ecology, literature, and feminism.
Dr. Lavell-Harvard's thought-provoking talk, entitled "Indigenous Women's Activism: Moving Towards a More Just Society," stirred the emotions of a full house of students, faculty and community members.
Describing Indigenous women as some of the most disadvantaged in Canadian society, Dr. Lavell-Harvard provided an overview of the poverty, discrimination and violence they continue to face. But she also delivered a message of hope, citing the example of her mother who helped to change the law which took Indian status away from Indigenous women when they married non-status men. Reminding her audience that drops of water can erode mountains over time, she said "At one drop at a time, we can make a difference if we all stand up together and we speak out against racism and injustice."